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University of California at Irvine (UCI) will install 12 Level 2 and two DC public, electric vehicle chargers on the University campus, at the South Coast Air Quality Management District office in Diamond Bar and at the Irvine Transportation Center in support of an ongoing electric vehicle car sharing program. This program, the Zero Emission Vehicle Network-Enabled Transport (ZEV-NET) system, is an innovative development in transit services started in 2002. The service enables passengers arriving at the Irvine Transportation Center Rail Station to pick up an electric vehicle, drive to work and plug the car in to a charging station at the worksite. Utilizing an advanced, web-based reservation system, other participants can arrange to share the car during the day for local business trips or personal errands. This successful program has a long waiting list of commuters wishing to participate.

Grant Amount

The Energy Commission is providing $122,500.

Match Funding

The project team will provide in-kind match valued at $1,687,500.

Project Participants

UC Irvine is the project leader with responsibility for management of the ZEV-NET program and will conduct an electric charger infrastructure study. Mitsubishi Motors will provide additional vehicles and supply maintenance and servicing of the vehicles over the life of the project.

Zipcar is the provider of data collection and reservation management software and hardware for ZEV-NET. The AQMD will facilitate outreach and provide additional funding for the vehicles and The City of Irvine will provide charger locations, installation support and assistance in streamlining the permitting processes.

Project Benefits

This project will reduce gasoline consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions in the South Coast Air Basin. Project partners estimate that this expansion of the ZEV-NET program will result in reductions of 4900 metric tons of GHG emissions and displacement of 725,000 gallons of gasoline by 2020. It also promotes the use of shared-use vehicles in compliance with the SB 375 objectives for land use planning. Furthermore, the data collected and analyzed from the vehicles and chargers will help to inform future installations of EV infrastructure projects. Current ZEV-NET usage data shows that a significant number of participants carpool from the transit station replacing single occupant commuter vehicles. Economic benefits include the support of two University graduate students and over 340 man-hours of skilled electrical labor for charging station installation.

Grant Agreement Number: ARV-10-046